Riding a wave of supermarket and hypermarket expansion, US beef’s presence is growing in Taiwan’s retail sector. The US Meat Export Federation estimates that 40% of US beef is now sold in Taiwan’s retail sector, up from 20% in 2014.

“The foodservice sector has traditionally been the major buyer of US beef but it has become very price-competitive,” said USMEF Senior Marketing Manager Alex Sun. “Supermarkets and hypermarkets are expanding and this creates more opportunities to feature high-quality US beef products at retail.” 

USMEF monitors retail trends in Taiwan through continuous market surveys, which helps identify opportunities for new products and specific sales promotions.

USMEF partnered with Costco on a promotional test for two new products–beef patties and pastrami rolls. For the promotion, USMEF developed a special display case and designed promotional packaging for the two items. The US beef promotion also featured four popular US steak cuts, along with the burger patties and pastrami roll. In addition to providing samples of pan-fried pastrami roll to attract consumers to the display case, USMEF also provided product assistance, recipes and cooking tips.

While sales of all the featured US beef products increased during the promotional period, sales for the beef patties and pastrami rolls exceeded expectations. As a result, 14 of Costco’s outlets in Taiwan now carry US beef patties and pastrami rolls as regular items.

Funding support was provided by the Beef Checkoff Program and North Dakota Corn Council.

Source: US Meat Export Federation